New York state court administrators announced Wednesday that 103 employees have been fired after they failed to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates, with an additional 12 unvaccinated employees either resigning or retiring.
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After its warning in March that 156 employees faced termination if they failed to comply with the mandate, the Office of Court Administration stated only 41 employees chose to get vaccinated.
Four judges, including Associate Judge Jenny Rivera on the state’s high court, received written warnings as court officials do not have the authority to fire judges that refuse to comply. The OCA has however made it clear they intend to refer said judges to the independent judicial ethics watchdog who can remove them.
Union officials fought OCA’s efforts to terminate employees, arguing that court officials violated labor law by making an end-run around collective bargaining agreements. Unions were present in grievance hearings as recently as Tuesday attempting to block the court system’s decision, and some employees continue to fight the mandate in court.
Four unvaccinated court reporters sued the court system in federal court for allegedly violating their constitutional rights. They have since dropped their lawsuit. Lead plaintiff Cheryl Ferrelli, however, has refused to comply.
“It’s a very, very sad situation what the court system has done to these people,” said Sheldon Karasik, who represents several of the employees. He said three of his clients chose to be vaccinated, and a fourth plans to do so, despite their religious principles or warnings from their doctors because they were “under financial duress.”
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn denied the state court employees’ attempt to block enforcement of the mandate in March after the Second Circuit ruled against blocking New York City’s vaccination requirement.
Ferrelli will continue with a new case filed by Wednesday in state court, which adds a principal appellate attorney, a judicial secretary, a secretary and a court officer as plaintiffs.
The OCA had defended the mandate as an important way to protect the health of its employees and the public who use the court system. So far, they have successfully defended the policy in court, however as state-wide and local mandates are rolled back, the future remains to be seen.
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Source: https://www.law360.com/articles/1481098
